College Education

[Kacie_bride]

How important do you think it is for people today to have a college education?

[Kacie_bride]

I think people need some sort of a skill or a certificate at least. There are certificates you can get in 6 months. I do believe a college education is very important, but I also know that not everyone is cut out for college.

[ladymelissa]

I think it's very important.

[mariaandmanish]

I think that in our current society, a college education is a definite aid to getting better jobs and higher salaries. It's not the end-all, be-all to success, but it is harder for those without the education to get the better positions.

[LaceyinPgh]

I feel that it is very important. The work place is getting far more competative than it was 20 years ago. Now days, a high school diploma isn't going to cut it. I know in some places, an associates degree won't even work anymore. You need a college diploma or at least the highest certification you can receive in your respective area. The way I was raised, college wasn't an option. It was just the next step you were required to take in life.

[MOB Karen]

I think it's very important. If you want to get a really good job, they are required. In my family, it is practically mandatory. Three out of four of the siblings in my family have Bachelor Degrees. And my own children will have Bachelor Degrees next year.

[countrygirl]

I think its important. I don't have one, and I wish that I did. But not everyone who has them is doing what they went to school for, and they aren't always the sharpest knife in the drawer either.

[rainbowtreat]

I think its important. I don't have one, and I wish that I did. But not everyone who has them is doing what they went to school for, and they aren't always the sharpest knife in the drawer either.

I was jsut going to say that. There are alot of people that go to school for one thing and never find a job in that area. I never went to collage but Iwould want my kids to.

[AngelinLove]

I feel that they are very important. Do i feel that you must have one to lead a satisfying and happy life, no, but I do feel that it is a very important step in life and that it does more that just provide you with an opportunity for a better job. I feel that it prepares you for the world in so many other ways as well. I am the ONLY person in my entire family to ever graduate college...and I have to admit that I am the most grounded, stable and economically sound one.

[AllyM1]

Well I feel that you should atleast have some certificate, state license, etc.

I know people who work with me making $10 an hour and they have Bachelor's degrees.

My cousin dropped out of high school after 9th grade, never got her GED, and makes $16 an hour. I would say that's pretty good for not having even a high school diploma.

Another friend of mine graduated actually from the same college my $10 an hour friend up there graduated from, Otterbein College, and she said when she graduated, only 3 people from her whole class found a job. She was and is still working at Meijer. (grocery/general merchandise store)

[nikkiana]

In our current society, it's extremely important to have a college education... Well, unless you're an extremely bright person who was able to start your own business right out of high school, but let's face it, that's not the norm.

Unfortunately, I think to some degree, our society has become too obssessed that everyone needs the proper paperwork to prove they have skills (i.e. a diploma).

[WhiskeyGirl]

I said it's not important...and that's what I believe for me. I don't need a college education because I will be making $20 an hour working on the farm. ;) However for my children, I would like to see them have a college or University degree.

[70707Bride]

I voted should have some skill or certificate in an area that you like. I'm in college right now. Just because someone has a degree in a field doesn't mean that they are very knowledgable in it. So I think that skill is more important sometimes. A lot of people get discriminated against and always will, so it could be irrelevant. It just depends.

[SoontobeMrsClark07]

I voted very important, but I dont think its absoultely necessary to have one. Jonathan is just now going to community college and got his job (by luck) right out of high school. He has a high paying job and wonderful benefits.

My parents didnt go to college, although my dad's mom graduated from the Medical College of Virginia in 1951. She is the only person in my family (both sides) that has a degree. I will have one. My parents both have great jobs (dad's is from a lucky break after high school and mom's is from working her way up from an assistant aide all the way to the behavior modification specialist at a center for mentally retarded persons), my mom loves what she does and gets paid as if she had a masters and my dad is the same.

I think that people who have them have a little more of an advantage, although its not impossible to get a good job without one.

[hummingbird521]

From my position at the moment of being unable to find a job, I voted for the might as well jump off a cliff if you don't have one. It is getting harder and harder to find a well paying position without a college degree.

[Kacie_bride]

From my position at the moment of being unable to find a job, I voted for the might as well jump off a cliff if you don't have one. It is getting harder and harder to find a well paying position without a college degree.

You'll find a good job soon!:hug:

[CarlosHoney]

From my position at the moment of being unable to find a job, I voted for the might as well jump off a cliff if you don't have one. It is getting harder and harder to find a well paying position without a college degree.I feel the same way, sweetie! :bbmrgreen: My DH has had a hard time finding a good job. He had a little college, but no diploma. We're moving closer to family so that we will be able to go to school.

[ikkin510]

I did not go to college. Steve went, but never got a diploma. I voted it's not important. Both of us make pretty good money in the jobs we are in. The reasoning as to why I didn't go, I want to be a stay at home mom/house wife. I know some people say that isn't very good planning, what if I never found the right guy, or we weren't financally stable enough for this to happen. I guess I just trusted that it would. And I will most likely be able to stay home in another year. I didn't want to spend all that money to go to shcool for somethign I didn't truely want to do. I know so many people who went and dropped out, or get a degree, and now don't even work in the field they studied for. Just seems like a waste of money to me. But, I wouldn't mind my children going, if they want to. But it's up to them.

[Kacie_bride]

I don't think it is a waiste of time getting a degree in something and then going into a different field. There are a lot of companies out there that just require you to have a bachelor's degree and not in one specific field. If it helps you get a better job, in your field or not, it is a good thing.

I will have a science degree, but I am not going into a scientific field. I am going to teach. I will have a teacher certification, but not a degree in education. It is just the route I want to take because I was not fond of the education department at my university.

[JennF]

I think its important. I don't have one, and I wish that I did. But not everyone who has them is doing what they went to school for...

I voted very important.

I think there are a couple things at play here. As far as getting hired without a degree of some sort, I really think that it depends on what you want to do.
I wouldn't have my job without a science degree, and I love what I do. So from my perspective it's all important. In Jonathan's case it's possible that he'd have his job without a degree, but a degree was always going to give him the edge for getting the job...and he'll be able to go a lot farther than he would without it. There's no denying that the earning potential for someone with a degree is higher on average.

But, I think it's important to point out that a relatively small portion of the U.S. population has a bach. degree or above. I think during the last census it hovered around 23%. That said, in more urban settings that percentage goes way up. I know it D.C. it's up around 47% and here in Seattle it's up around 44% or 45%. So as someone else pointed out, it really does depend on geographical area too.

I think the greatest factor in success is going to be you. If you want to succeed in your chosen field then you'll find a way to do it. (And realistically this will mean a degree for some and not for others. It just depends.)

[70707Bride]

My dad's got a 4 year Accounting degree, and was a 4.0 student. He can't get any accounting job now, that's why I voted skill in some area, because that's what people usually want, someone who has had experience.

[ladymelissa]

My dad's got a 4 year Accounting degree, and was a 4.0 student. He can't get any accounting job now, that's why I voted skill in some area, because that's what people usually want, someone who has had experience.
Did he recently obtain this degree and looking to start a new career with no experience or has he been in the field for 25 years or more and would require a higher than entry level position which would mean a greater pay scale?

[70707Bride]

Did he recently obtain this degree and looking to start a new career with no experience or has he been in the field for 25 years or more and would require a higher than entry level position which would mean a greater pay scale?

He's 50 year old and hasn't worked in the field for about 14 years because we moved back home, but he didn't just get this degree. But if it were this case: he can't find a job due to the fact that he just got a degree and has no experience, that would mean that it isn't very important to have a degree. I think a lot of people haven't hired him because of this degree and the fact that he was a 4.0 student, because they were afraid that he would get promoted to their position.

FH and I have a friend that was a 4.0 student throughout his 4 years of college, he was going for a Masters but dropped out because he didn't want to go to college anymore. He went for Meteorology. He's a very, very intelligent person. I mean, he's practically a genius to us. He had a hard time finding a job for Meteorology because he was so smart. This is because the employers know that he would be smart enough to figure out if he would be getting underpaid. Which he is now but he needed a job so he took it. He's now a meteorologist for KHQA Ch. 7 in Quincy, IL.

[LizabethDavis]

I went and got my degree in Paralegal Studies and now I don't even use it. It is important to have one I believe...I just got mine in the wrong area!

[mlm063007]

I think that it is important to at least have some kind of certificate. I believe that it is a HUGE waste to go to college just to go. My brother is going into the carpentry field, it would just be a waste of money for him to go.

He is currently going to a vocational school so that when he graduates he will have some experience.

In some instances experience is just as important as a degree, if not more.